Rosin Technique....Easy DIY Solventless

so my pressings been going good, averaging 20%. I'm still having trouble truly understanding what's going on though... is it volatile terpenes or moisture forcing the oil out of the chips?
The other day i pressed too hot, around 260, and for too long. When i took the paper out some steam came out and basically burned my hand. But it smelled like straight up lemons. Like lemon pledge. I understand that it was the terpenes in a gas form, and it condensed on my hand, but is it the terpenes forcing the oil out? I ask because maybe hydrating the buds with terpenes somehow vs water in boveda packs could lead to better yields? Perhaps with a humidifier, or homemade humidifier for terpenes, or an oil burner, or something... i do not know...
But i do know this is still a pretty misunderstood subject.

dabsonthemountain said:

so my pressings been going good, averaging 20%. I'm still having trouble truly understanding what's going on though... is it volatile terpenes or moisture forcing the oil out of the chips?
The other day i pressed too hot, around 260, and for too long. When i took the paper out some steam came out and basically burned my hand. But it smelled like straight up lemons. Like lemon pledge. I understand that it was the terpenes in a gas form, and it condensed on my hand, but is it the terpenes forcing the oil out? I ask because maybe hydrating the buds with terpenes somehow vs water in boveda packs could lead to better yields? Perhaps with a humidifier, or homemade humidifier for terpenes, or an oil burner, or something... i do not know...
But i do know this is still a pretty misunderstood subject.

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As I understand terpenes are not nearly as abundant as water in buds. Typically less than 1% while water is much more present.

Not sure of your goals here, but my advice would be to use less heat for a higher quality rosin with natural terpenes. My last several presses were at 190F.

You can always pick up anything you missed with ISO later.

Pressing at 190, for me the rosin typically butters. If not I stir and mix it until it does. This slows down terpene evaporation. And then I freeze it until use and the terpenes are very present, tastes great and so on.

shredder said:

As I understand terpenes are not nearly as abundant as water in buds. Typically less than 1% while water is much more present.

Not sure of your goals here, but my advice would be to use less heat for a higher quality rosin with natural terpenes. My last several presses were at 190F.

You can always pick up anything you missed with ISO later.

Pressing at 190, for me the rosin typically butters. If not I stir and mix it until it does. This slows down terpene evaporation. And then I freeze it until use and the terpenes are very present, tastes great and so on.

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I usually press at between 200 and 220 max, but i turned my press on and forgot about it... When i remembered i turned it on it was bumped up to 256. My DIY press just heats up slow and i turn off the heaters at the sweet spots. (it turns off after an hr of no use.. for safety of course) I can even start to press at 200, and by the time it's at 215-220 it's time to take it out. Incremental pressure+incremental heat seems to work best for me yield wise.

I'm thinking of adding terpenes into a vial, adding a gram or two of bud, putting it on a low heat and letting it sit for a few hrs, then press and see whats up. Then maybe upscale it. i'm not sure if enough terpenes would evaporate and get sucked up by the bud.. Since most terpenes are water soluble adding terpenes instead of moisture should also increase yield through less original terpenes from the actual plant being lost, plus flavor from terpenes you've just added.

dabsonthemountain said:

I'm thinking of adding terpenes into a vial, adding a gram or two of bud, putting it on a low heat and letting it sit for a few hrs, then press and see whats up. Then maybe upscale it. i'm not sure if enough terpenes would evaporate and get sucked up by the bud.. Since most terpenes are water soluble adding terpenes instead of moisture should also increase yield through less original terpenes from the actual plant being lost, plus flavor from terpenes you've just added.

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Water solubility of terpenes is specific to the particular terp. Most aren't very water soluble AFAIK.

I don't see the merit to this process though. Cannabis derived terpenes are very expensive, so if you are just planning on using generic food grade terpenes, I really couldn't understand why. Yield is mostly related to the amount of resin on the flower + time/temp/PSI.

dabsonthemountain said:

I usually press at between 200 and 220 max, but i turned my press on and forgot about it... When i remembered i turned it on it was bumped up to 256. My DIY press just heats up slow and i turn off the heaters at the sweet spots. (it turns off after an hr of no use.. for safety of course) I can even start to press at 200, and by the time it's at 215-220 it's time to take it out. Incremental pressure+incremental heat seems to work best for me yield wise.

I'm thinking of adding terpenes into a vial, adding a gram or two of bud, putting it on a low heat and letting it sit for a few hrs, then press and see whats up. Then maybe upscale it. i'm not sure if enough terpenes would evaporate and get sucked up by the bud.. Since most terpenes are water soluble adding terpenes instead of moisture should also increase yield through less original terpenes from the actual plant being lost, plus flavor from terpenes you've just added.

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I just use boveda humidity packs to the herb prior to pressing. No need to add anything else. The law of diminishing returns comes into play here. Adding moisture after a certain point is counter productive.

62% humidity is about right. I use 62% boveda packs. Adding more moisture at this point is not productive, and could make your rosin a goopy mess.

One of the benefits of pressing at low temps is that you preserve terpenes. Imo better then adding store bought terps later.

shredder said:

I just use boveda humidity packs to the herb prior to pressing. No need to add anything else. The law of diminishing returns comes into play here. Adding moisture after a certain point is counter productive.

62% humidity is about right. I use 62% boveda packs. Adding more moisture at this point is not productive, and could make your rosin a goopy mess.

One of the benefits of pressing at low temps is that you preserve terpenes. Imo better then adding store bought terps later.

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I do understand the proper moisture percentages for the best yield. I'm considering terpene content and final yield, like it's another variable playing a role. If we can find the best terpene percentage for the best yield, like we have for moisture, maybe we could work to improve overall yields for everyone too.

In my original post i was overexcited and a little tipsy so i typed away my mind as quick as i could. I still think terpene content, time, moisture content, heat, and pressure are all variables in final yield. While adding terpenes of course will add to the yield (because you've just added weight) i'm hoping adding terpenes could increase the percentage of the actual cannabinoids being extracted. While the added terpenes will still be in the final product, I'm thinking of extracting more of the existing cannabinoids, along with existing terpenes, from the plant material using the added terps, almost like nitrous in a whipped cream can. Everyone knows terpenes play a role, but i feel they play a much larger role than people realize. The other day, when the straight terps condensed on my hand, it started to get me thinking. I know i pressed way too hot that day, i was just in a rush to dab and get outta the house. But the fact that the terpenes moved and condensed like that tells me they play a greater role than people think.

dabsonthemountain said:

I do understand the proper moisture percentages for the best yield. I'm considering terpene content and final yield, like it's another variable playing a role. If we can find the best terpene percentage for the best yield, like we have for moisture, maybe we could work to improve overall yields for everyone too.

In my original post i was overexcited and a little tipsy so i typed away my mind as quick as i could. I still think terpene content, time, moisture content, heat, and pressure are all variables in final yield. While adding terpenes of course will add to the yield (because you've just added weight) i'm hoping adding terpenes could increase the percentage of the actual cannabinoids being extracted. While the added terpenes will still be in the final product, I'm thinking of extracting more of the existing cannabinoids, along with existing terpenes, from the plant material using the added terps, almost like nitrous in a whipped cream can. Everyone knows terpenes play a role, but i feel they play a much larger role than people realize. The other day, when the straight terps condensed on my hand, it started to get me thinking. I know i pressed way too hot that day, i was just in a rush to dab and get outta the house. But the fact that the terpenes moved and condensed like that tells me they play a greater role than people think.

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Terpenes are also solvents. I suspect adding more will let the plant material absorb the terpenes with possible cannabinoids as well and make it harder to get them out of the puck. I further suspect that's why folks that add terpenes do it later. But, hey give it a try.

dabsonthemountain said:

While adding terpenes of course will add to the yield (because you've just added weight) i'm hoping adding terpenes could increase the percentage of the actual cannabinoids being extracted. While the added terpenes will still be in the final product, I'm thinking of extracting more of the existing cannabinoids, along with existing terpenes, from the plant material using the added terps, almost like nitrous in a whipped cream can. Everyone knows terpenes play a role, but i feel they play a much larger role than people realize. The other day, when the straight terps condensed on my hand, it started to get me thinking. I know i pressed way too hot that day, i was just in a rush to dab and get outta the house. But the fact that the terpenes moved and condensed like that tells me they play a greater role than people think.

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1. Pardon, why should added terpens increase the percentage of the actual cannabinoids??

2. And why should added terpenes extract more of the existing cannabinoids??

I'm pretty sure that neither one nor the other is right. If 1. would be true I guess everyone would do so since decades to pimp his stuff.

And the 2nd doesn't absolutely make no sense. You are extracting rosin no cannabinoids and the yielded rosin contains cannabinoids and they are the same as before except your assumption in 1. would be right

Maybe I'm wrong but would be very interested in a scientific chemical ecplanation.

well with rosin, water is the solvent doing the extraction, but the other natural solvents in the flower must also be helping the water as added moisture to help release the cannabinoids. I think it makes sense.

It helps just to extract the rosin not the cannaboinoids. They are the same before and after pressing. During the pressing procedure the profile of cannbinoids may change caused by the heating/pressing process. To increase the extraction of the rosin take water no terpenes if necessary. Guess it would be a waste adding them to the flowers before pressing. If you like add terpenes to the rosin.

The way it was explained to me is since oil and water do not mix, the heat drives out the moisture in the flowers, which looks for the path of least resistance to escape, which causes the steam to extract the resin.

I hate added terps, even live resin can be too much.

wait, aren't the cannabinoids in the rosin?

invertedisdead said:

The way it was explained to me is since oil and water do not mix, the heat drives out the moisture in the flowers, which looks for the path of least resistance to escape, which causes the steam to extract the resin.

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If there is any steam extraction going on it would be minute and would only work on the terps AFAIK.
The majority of the extraction is happening through the heat and pressure applied. This breaks down the trich walls and releases the goodies. The actual flower material is of little concern for containing anything you're trying to collect. Yields should vary depending on trich count and their maturity. Not sure about moisture being a major factor in yield haven't experimented with it enough, my guess is minimal. In theory the only moisture that should be of concern for yield gains lies in the trich heads.

guyonthecouch said:

If there is any steam extraction going on it would be minute and would only work on the terps AFAIK.
The majority of the extraction is happening through the heat and pressure applied. This breaks down the trich walls and releases the goodies. The actual flower material is of little concern for containing anything you're trying collect. Yields should vary depending on trich count and their maturity. Not sure about moisture being a major factor in yield haven't experimented with it enough, my guess is minimal. In theory the only moisture that should be of concern for yield gains lies in the trich heads.

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The pressure bursts the cell wall of the glandular trichome head, and the heat drives the oil out, but it's certainly moisture dependent. It's not like pressing olive oil where a cold press can be done, the heat is a critical component for driving the oil out. Yield definitely suffers with lack of moisture, this has been confirmed many times. Not to mention the increased chance of particulate from pressing dry material without a bag or filter.

@invertedisdead what about pressing dry sift? You wouldn't add water to the trichs to increase yield.

If what you say is correct than the yield increase is most likely from that of undesirables anyways.

None of you are understanding what i'm saying. The cannabinoids are in the rosin. I'm trying to get as much out of the buds as i can. So adding cheap terps, maybe could help to extract more. Forcing more oil out of the chips. Why is that so hard to get? Either way i'll experiment.

guyonthecouch said:

@invertedisdead what about pressing dry sift? You wouldn't add water to the trichs to increase yield.

If what you say is correct than the yield increase is most likely from that of undesirables anyways.

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With dry sift the trichomes have already been separated from the flower. It's not the same as trying to extract the resin through a bunch of dense plant material, as most of the plant material has already been removed during the refinement process.

dabsonthemountain said:

None of you are understanding what i'm saying. The cannabinoids are in the rosin. I'm trying to get as much out of the buds as i can. So adding cheap terps, maybe could help to extract more. Forcing more oil out of the chips. Why is that so hard to get? Either way i'll experiment.

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I understand your hypothesis fine, I think most don't share the same desire to contaminate their rosin with generic non cannabis derived food grade terpenes. If you want to get every last drop out you need wiped film fractional distillation.

We all understand but it makes no scientifical sense IMHO

Wouldn't adding terps just make for a very 'wet' rosin that's hard to collect?
I've read of some people adding terps to oil/rosin to make it less viscous for putting in refillable cartridges, so I'm not sure it would be a good idea.

@invertedisdead If flower moisture is beneficial for yield then why don't people press fresh cut flower for a "live" rosin result. Surely everyone would be suggesting this method due to larger yields. I haven't heard/seen of anyone suggesting the latter, please share links if you have any. This would also be highly beneficial due to skipping the curing process of your material and saving a bunch of processing time. I understand there's an optimal moisture/cure level that's beneficial for reasons such as avoiding particle contamination but still not seeing how it would increase yields.

@dabsonthemountain Unfortunately I don't think your suggestion would be beneficial for rosin pressing. For one you're introducing a solvent to a solventless process. May as well just do a complete solvent extraction if you're going to be using one. You'd be better off going in for a second press of your chips. You could wash your chips post press as another member already suggested if you really want to rinse them for everything they're worth. This process can be tedious for the minimal return. A good press should do it's job fairly well.

I did a bunch of research for my ideal machine and ended up going with the Rosin Bomb M-50 model. It's electric, quiet, portable, super simple to use, works great with small or large amounts of material with large plates and 5 tons of pressure. What really amazes me is the consistency of the quality of the end product and yields it provides, best results out of any setup I've tried. It was a little pricey(not compared to competitors with similar specs and category of quality) but is beyond worth it, already paid itself off in savings. If you're not going the DIY route I would highly recommend looking into this machine.

Got it at Toronto Hemp Co - https://torontohemp.com/products/rosin-bomb-electric-rosin-press-no-air-no-manual-labour-24187

If anyone in the Toronto area wants to try it out send me a msg

WARNING!! - Once you start pressing there's no going back muahahaha

guyonthecouch said:

@invertedisdead If flower moisture is beneficial for yield then why don't people press fresh cut flower for a "live" rosin result. Surely everyone would be suggesting this method due to larger yields. I haven't heard/seen of anyone suggesting the latter, please share links if you have any. This would also be highly beneficial due to skipping the curing process of your material and saving a bunch of processing time. I understand there's an optimal moisture/cure level that's beneficial for reasons such as avoiding particle contamination but still not seeing how it would increase yields.

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Path of diminishing returns. Really wet bud has too much moisture, but some like to do a fresh frozen bubble run and then squeeze that for "live rosin." Keep in mind the yield is technically skewed when pressing a really wet product to account for moisture loss; as there is a lot more cannabinoids in an oz of dried flowers than an oz of wet.

Also keep in mind, when I speak of increasing yields it's not referring to obtaining something that wasn't there to begin with. This is all about maximizing the potential of your starting material. At the end of the day you can only get as much as you can get. Most rosin companies have lots of documentation on proper humidity levels to use when squishing. You can easily replicate these experiments yourself.

As far as using wet product to skip curing, that's subjective, and I know the live resin industry has been able convince people it's preferable, but it just depends. The advanced flavor profile of the sesquiterpeneoids takes time to develop. Some strains work better for running fresh and others are better cured.

invertedisdead said:

Path of diminishing returns. Really wet bud has too much moisture, but some like to do a fresh frozen bubble run and then squeeze that for "live rosin." Keep in mind the yield is technically skewed when pressing a really wet product to account for moisture loss; as there is a lot more cannabinoids in an oz of dried flowers than an oz of wet.

Also keep in mind, when I speak of increasing yields it's not referring to obtaining something that wasn't there to begin with. This is all about maximizing the potential of your starting material. At the end of the day you can only get as much as you can get. Most rosin companies have lots of documentation on proper humidity levels to use when squishing. You can easily replicate these experiments yourself.

As far as using wet product to skip curing, that's subjective, and I know the live resin industry has been able convince people it's preferable, but it just depends. The advanced flavor profile of the sesquiterpeneoids takes time to develop. Some strains work better for running fresh and others are better cured.

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I have tried pressing just picked flowers, and it didn't turn out well. The closest I got to a decent rosin of totally fresh was after three days of hanging. Even then it was pretty gooey and hard to collect. I had to let some set out for a few days to dry up enough to collect off the paper.

As far as terpenes in rosin, I grow organically and so the flowers are extremely stinky, and full of terpenes. It's obvious they have more terps than hydro, at least to me, a totally biased observer, lol. But as a organic grower I can't justify adding terpenes from anything other than the natural ones in the flowers. Ymmv.

I have tried terps added to bho that friends had. In my limited sampling I found them harsh and overpowering any natural mj flavors. Very un natural, IMHO.

Like most here, non growers should look to quality. If you can buy the stinkiest organic growen buds, do so. Same for concentrates. Buy the ones that taste good naturally and unadulterated. I think the top of this heap would be full melt hash, followed by rosin and far down the list comes solvent concentrates with terps added.

To add to @invertedisdead the effects/flavor/medicine of a cured trichome is different than an uncured. If thats what one is after, by all means, and I agree the fresh frozen>bubble>rosin is likely going to be the least amount of trouble

shredder said:

I have tried pressing just picked flowers, and it didn't turn out well. The closest I got to totally fresh was after three days of hanging. Even then it was pretty gooey and hard to collect. I had to let some set out for a few days to dry up enough to collect off the paper.

As far as terpenes in rosin, I grow organically and so the flowers are extremely stinky, and full of terpenes. It's obvious they have more terps than hydro, at least to me, a totally biased observer, lol. But as a organic grower I can't justify adding terpenes from anything other than the natural ones in the flowers. Ymmv.

I have tried terps added to bho that friends had. In my limited sampling I found them harsh and overpowering any natural mj flavors. Very un natural, IMHO.

Like most here, non growers should look to quality. If you can buy the stinkiest organic growen buds, do so. Same for concentrates. Buy the ones that taste good naturally and unadulterated. I think the top of this heap would be full melt hash, followed by rosin and far down the list comes solvent concentrates with terps added.

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Exactly, press too wet and you end up with moisture in your rosin. Then people think you're dabbing poop soup because it will sizzle on the nail! Also if the rosin has too much water in it the risk of tearing your paper goes way up, which would be awful!

I've never really been into hydro, but I think some of these aquaponics setups are pretty neat!

It's interesting how many BHO fans HATE rosin. How could someone not want to dab this?